947 Habitual Disappearance

Even these Saint-leveled figures had died in the same way as the low-leveled soldiers. They were easily killed as if it only took a single thought for their enemies to take their lives. There were no signs of any resistance either.

Even Saint-leveled experts could not stand up to one hit. Their enemy was unimaginably strong… Could it have been the Holy Saint Teacher?

There was a flash of doubt in Wang Zhong's heart, but it quickly vanished.

Of course, the Holy Saint Teacher had the ability to do this, but he had no reason to do so. Furthermore, no matter whether it was in the records that humans had kept or his encounter with the Holy Saint Teacher in the flow of time, Wang Zhong felt that the Holy Saint Teacher was not someone who liked to slaughter people without restraint, unless he was threatened. This was not a matter of whether he was merciful or not. This was his attitude and personality. If the Holy Saint Teacher had actually attacked here, he would not have attacked the civilians in the castle.

Besides the Holy Saint Teacher, he also thought about the charred wing marks he had seen when he entered this fragment world… Could that have been the culprit?

Their greatest desire was to find the owner of this world, no matter whether it was in the form of a corpse or not. Even an object that they had left behind would be good as it would definitely help them to understand this body. But in this massive castle, there were only corpses. They could not tell whether the corpse of the owner was among these corpses. However, Wang Zhong found a clue that was similar to the charred wing marks.

He found this clue on the highest fort in the castle. Only half of the fort, which was originally several dozen meters tall, was left standing. It was as if someone had used a terrifying technique to split open the fort at its center, causing the entire left half to disappear completely. However, the right side of the fort was perfect and unharmed, but there were faint charred marks at where the fort had been cut open. The marks had a threatening and unique aura that was highly corrosive. It had the exact same aura as the charred wings Wang Zhong had seen in the illusion when he entered this fragment world.

But other than that, they did not find anything. However, they did not lose heart. If there were no clues in the castle, then they would expand the scope of their search and explore this entire world. After all, Wang Zhong had stored enough food and water in his space crystal. Furthermore, Grai, who had advanced to the Semi-Heavenly Soul stage, felt that he could endure the suction force this world had on his Soul Power. This was the most important foundation in the long war they would have to fight.

The first place they headed to was the lake they had entered this world from. As they had expected, they did not sense the existence of any pathway or spatial coordinate. Then, they continued to head west and saw the end of this world. There was an invisible barrier that divided the world. The other side of the world was covered in a white fog. Even through the powerful world barrier, Wang Zhong and Grai could sense a great danger within the white fog.

They walked along the barrier and walked one round. This world did not feel very big and was probably over fifty kilometers wide. The barrier at the boundary was tough and thick. There seemed to be no cracks or pathways through the barrier. Thus, they turned around and searched through the world.

After a full five days, they did not find the spatial coordinate or the pathway they had wanted to find. However, through their constant interaction as they searched, they arrived at a despairing possibility.

There were no spatial coordinates and no exit. This space was completely sealed off and independent. They also could not sense anything that could form the core of this dimensional secret realm…

This was not a dimensional secret realm. Instead, this was a fragment world that once had a powerful owner! When Wang Zhong and Grai had entered this place, they had a faint sense that this was the case but did not dare to be sure of this. Although this place was rather small for a dimensional secret realm, it was unimaginably vast for a fragment world.

No matter whether it was Wang Zhong or Grai, they only had this much knowledge of fragment worlds.

This was a fragment world that was several dozen kilometers wide. What did this mean? In the past, Wang Zhong might not have understood, but now that he knew Uncle Zhang was Sacred Teacher Leyson, he realized that the lake where he had often gone fishing with Uncle Zhang was Uncle Zhang's fragment world. Thus, he understood that this was also a fragment world. Even for a super-powerful expert whose combat level was celebrated among the Sacred Teachers, his fragment world was only two kilometers wide!

Even though this felt small, Heavenly Soul Teachers who had a fragment world with rich spiritual influence and balanced rules were rather amazing. A larger and better fragment world would need an unimaginably large amount of energy to maintain it.

Weakness restricted one's imagination. This massive fragment world with rich spiritual influence all around defeated Uncle Zhang's fragment world hands down. What kind of expert would be able to bear such frightening consumption of their Soul Power? This was simply unimaginable! No wonder they had some doubt in their hearts. However, they only confirmed this doubt after five days.

An ownerless fragment world that was on the verge of destruction. They were slightly dumbfounded by this.

After all, their understanding of fragment worlds was far too shallow. Although they had seen similar descriptions in books, they only knew that they would be able to control this world when they recaptured the Will of the fragment world. But the problem was, what exactly did recapturing the Will of a fragment world mean?

The word 'Will' often appeared in books from the Holy Land, but no one had ever elaborated on this word in detail. Perhaps Wang Zhong and Grai did not have enough authority to access the information in the Holy Land. Perhaps this concept was too profound and could not be explained in mere words.

They thought about the pathway that Sacred Teacher Leyson had opened up when they entered the Mizobudapi World. In reality, that was a form of resistance between the Wills of two worlds. But even back then, the Will was intangible. It could not be seen or touched. It was as if it only existed as a rule. Furthermore, this world had been broken to this extent. The rules of this world were in a mess, and the so-called Will probably no longer existed. If they wanted to find the Will and recapture it, it would not be easy.

"I cannot sense the Will of this world. It's probably because our strength and divine sense as Heroic Souls are too weak and because of the chaotic rules in this world."

After all, the fragment world was something only Heavenly Soul Great Teachers would be able to encounter. Heavenly Souls had an innate harmony with the heavens and had a close relationship with nature. They were also able to use the power of the heaven and the earth. The difference between levels was not something a Heroic Soul could overcome with just combat strength.

"Let's think of a way to cultivate." Wang Zhong made a decision. "If we are able to advance to the Heavenly Soul Stage and strengthen our senses toward the heaven and the earth, we might be able to sense the so-called Will amidst the chaotic rules on this world. Even if we can't, or the Will of this world has vanished, we can try to create a pathway in the barrier by force."

Heavenly Souls were powerful as they could make use of the power of the heaven and the earth. How much power you were able to use purely depended on how much energy circulation your body could handle.

Among these two people, one of them had divine cells, while the other had the mysterious and unpredictable bloodline of the Blood Race. They had unlimited potential. Even though the rules of this world were chaotic and the spiritual influence was violent, no matter what, the reality was that this place was full of spiritual influence. Furthermore, since this fragment world was on the verge of destruction, the barrier at the border would definitely be weakened. It would not be as strong and tough as before. Thus, if they were able to advance to the Heavenly Soul Stage and gather the spiritual influence that was present in the heaven and the earth, it would definitely be possible for them to break through the world barrier, or at least try to do so. This was a way of thinking and a method they could use.

Of course, this was what they would do if they had no choice. Such fragment worlds had been seized and refined by experts out of thin air. Thus, unless there was a stable pathway they could travel through, even if they had a 1% likelihood that they could break through the barrier, they would definitely end up in a boundless void. A void was something that even Heavenly Souls revered.

However, it was still too early to talk about these. Breaking through to the Heavenly Soul Stage sounded easy, but countless heavenly-gifted people had died at this stage. They were unable to break through in their lifetime. Even though Wang Zhong and Grai had powerful endowments, would they be able to break through just because they wanted to?

Furthermore, if they wanted to break through to the Heavenly Soul Stage, they had to accumulate power. Both of them were not lacking in this aspect, but more importantly, they needed breakthroughs and comprehension.

This comprehension typically meant a comprehension of nature, and the heaven and the earth. One would have to sense the natural laws of the heaven and the earth. On a smaller scale, they had to comprehend the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. On a larger scale, they had to comprehend rules: time and space, order, destruction, light, and so on. They had to observe, learn, and understand. They had to achieve comprehension step by step.

However, in this fragment world, the rules were chaotic, and the world was on the verge of destruction. Stormy and clear weather existed side by side. There were times when gravity was present, and times when it was absent. It was chaotic and disorderly. Even the basic natural laws that they were most familiar with were in a strange state here. What could you comprehend?!

Luckily, Wang Zhong had something on him.

They returned to the castle at Wang Zhong's suggestion. Then, Wang Zhong took out a divine sword that belonged to the Mizobudapi and passed it to Grai. It was the divine sword that the Sword Saint had left behind after the fight at the phoenix remains. He already had the Nebula Sacred Sword, so he could give this to Grai.

"This is a chance for a breakthrough," said Wang Zhong. "The swords of the Mizobudapi are very unique. Furthermore, the users of such swords have achieved the Heavenly Soul Stage, or even higher. I think that there will be some clues in this."

Wang Zhong had seen the sword bases that nurtured divine swords in the phoenix remains. These divine swords were not produced through ordinary means. Furthermore, just like how many Octopus Sword Saints had advanced to the Saint level through their understanding of the sword — although it was different from how humans comprehended the heaven and the earth — it was the same in essence. Of course, more importantly, they had no choice. The rules of the heaven and the earth here were too chaotic. Only with a divine sword in their hands, which had lasting rules that were steady, did they have the possibility of achieving comprehension.

The distance between the Semi-Heavenly Soul Stage and the Heavenly Soul Stage seemed as thin as a piece of paper.

"Okay." Grai was very comfortable. His trust in Wang Zhong was unimaginable. Furthermore, in terms of courage, Grai definitely had the most courage in the world. He was not afraid of death and difficulty. He was not even afraid of himself.

Earlier, Wang Zhong's divine blood had caused changes in Grai's bloodline. Not only had his body become more perfect, he even felt as if he could faintly pry into the natural order of the world. Thus, he was fine with comprehending anything. He just wanted to find a breakthrough.

"This place is very quiet. Let's find our own spot. This will prevent us from disturbing each other as well."

This was different from ordinary cultivation. While one was working towards their comprehension of rules, talking with other people was taboo. This was because people each had their own understanding of the same rule. Once you heard the opinion of others, it would be easier for you to make a detour. Even a Teacher who was much higher leveled than you could typically only point you in a certain direction for you to experience. They could not tell you in detail what your understanding of the rules were.

Wang Zhong divided the food he had brought between them. Luckily, he had listened to Feng and made sufficient preparations before coming here. His space crystal was filled with food and water. Even if they did not deliberately conserve their resources, it would be enough for them to survive for a year. If they used these resources sparingly, surviving for two years would not be a problem.

"Good luck!"

Before they split up, they told each other to take good care of themselves. One or two years was not a short period of time, but it was not a long time either. They had to break through to the Heavenly Soul Stage before that!

...…

Wang Zhong had disappeared again.

The leader of the Wanderlust Team was quite different from the leaders of other famous exploration teams. If one were to count how many times he had disappeared in total… The first time was at the Black Boulder Mountains, and the second was at the Shadow Moon Fortress. This was already the third time.

As the leader of an exploration team, how could he disappear almost every time? If this had happened two or three months ago, it would definitely be the topic of gossip in the Exploration Team Department. But this time, it was different…

"Have you heard? Captain Wang Zhong disappeared again!" Someone was mysteriously spreading this information in the Exploration Team Department. "I heard that he went to the frontlines!"

"Is this rare? Is this surprising? Can this even be considered news?" Most of the people who heard this rolled their eyes. "I feel that the ones who should be worried about this should be the Octopus people!"

"That's right. Every time Captain Wang disappears, the Octopus people will definitely suffer!"

"I think that the Octopus people were at odds with Lao Wang…"

They had only spoken a few sentences, but the topic had changed. "I heard that the Wanderlust Team has been very fierce recently. A new person from the Federation called Mo Wen escaped unscathed after fighting a Sword Saint on a mission a few days ago."

"Damn, where do so many impressive newbies come from…? Wait, is his surname Mo? Is he from the Mo Family, one of the three great ancient families? The one who produced a prophet?"

"That's right! He has the strength and the background." Saliva spewed in all directions as he spoke, radiant with delight. The Wanderlust Team was starting to have a group of fans. "Furthermore, they also have the fierce and great Mu Zi, as well as Hyde and a group of elite dimensional humans. Their mission completion rate is extremely high, and their welfare is amazing. Even I want to quit my small exploration team to sign up with them…"

"Are you kidding me? Do you think that the current Wanderlust Team is the Wanderlust Team of the past? They came up with a whole system of accepting people and are very strict when selecting members. You missed the golden time to join."

"Don't be so jealous. An exploration team that has just risen does not have any resources accumulated or support from a mature Holy Land power. Even if they have become rich overnight, how good can their welfare be?" Someone was full of disdain. "Even if they had extra money, they would definitely use that money to develop their exploration team."

He was absolutely right. The development of the exploration team was an objective that a new exploration team like them had to consider first. However, to be honest, the current Wanderlust Team did not lack money.